Mona Abaza, born in Sharquia, Egypt, in 1959. Ph.D. from Universität Bielefeld. Associate Professor in Sociology at the American University of Cairo.
Fellow (1 September 2006 – 30 June 2007)
THE PARADOX OF ENLIGHTENMENT IN ARAB INTELLECTUAL AND WESTERN DISCOURSE
I finished proof reading my book: The changing Consumer Culture of Egypt: Cairo’s Urban reshaping which has since been published. I was able to work on a manuscript that I am writing on the contemporary discourses of Enlightenment in the Middle East. I also published an article entitled: “Shifting Landscapes of Fashion in Contemporary Egypt”, in Fashion Theory, Volume 11, Issue 2/3 June/September 2007. Pp. 281-299. Other publications include: “More on the Shifting Worlds of Islam. The Middle East and Southeast Asia; A Troubled Relationship?” 2007 in: The Muslim World; and “Mohammad Asad Shahab: An Indonesian Arabic writer”, a contribution to a volume edited by Eric Toggliacozzo, Stanford University Press, 2008. I presented a paper titled “The Trafficking with tanwir in Egypt” at a conference on the 10th November 2006 honoring Professor Abdulkader Tayob’s activities as ISIM Chair at the Radboud University. I also presented a paper entitled: “Transnational Migrations of Identity: Jews, Muslims and the Modernity Debate” at a conference at Dartmouth College (15-18 February, 2007). I was also invited by the University of Zürich, (29th of May 2007) to talk about “Gender Studies and consumer culture”. Finally, I was given the honor of delivering the Ortelius Lecture in Antwerp.